Russell Clayton, a doctoral student at the school of journalism, conducted the study and his results showed that “Twitter-related conflict then leads to negative relationship outcomes, including emotional and physical cheating, breakup and divorce.”

In the study, Clayton surveyed 581 Twitter users. The participants were asked questions about their Twitter use including: “How often you login to Twitter, tweet, scroll the Twitter newsfeed, send direct messages to others, and reply to followers?” Participants were also asked if their current or past relationships experienced strain because of Twitter use.

Not surprisingly, the study found that the more often a respondent reported being active on Twitter, the more likely they were to experience Twitter-related strain in their relationship, which indicated a higher likelihood of cheating and separation. In a previous study he conducted on Facebook, Clayton found that Facebook strain negatively impacting a relationship was greater among couples in newer relationships (36 months or less.)

“Although a number of variables can contribute to relationship infidelity and separation, social networking site usage, such as Twitter and Facebook use, can be damaging to relationships,” Clayton said.

How do you know if Twitter is negatively affecting your relationship? Ask yourself these questions to find out:

1) Are you checking Twitter when you promised your partner your attention?

2) Does your partner get upset with you when you can’t give them your attention because you’re checking Twitter?

3) After your partner gets upset with you, do you compose a tweet about it then post it to Twitter?

4) Do you frequently use Twitter to flirt with strangers, send suggestive pictures of yourself and/or meet potential affairs?

5) Are you currently having an affair with someone you met on Twitter?

If you were able to answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to considering signing offline for a long while.